Worst‐case stability and performance with mixed parametric and dynamic uncertainties

Summary This work deals with computing the worst‐case stability and the worst‐case H∞ performance of linear time‐invariant systems subject to mixed real‐parametric and complex‐dynamic uncertainties in a compact parameter set. Our novel algorithmic approach is tailored to the properties of the nonsmooth worst‐case functions associated with stability and performance, and this leads to a fast and reliable optimization method, which finds good lower bounds of μ. We justify our approach theoretically by proving a local convergence certificate. Because computing μ is known to be NP‐hard, our technique should be used in tandem with a classical μ upper bound to assess global optimality. Extensive testing indicates that the technique is practically attractive. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.